Review: One of several debut singles by Khruangbin, 'White Gloves' sweltered in with a mellow sway that would soon become their calling card. 'White Gloves' rode a wistful bassline and slackened drums, built around a hazy guitar riff and Laura Lee's near-whispered vocal - "she was a queen" - as much lullaby as lament. As ever drawing from Thai funk, 60s surf and gospel, the track established Houston trio's knack for folding global references into something spare and dreamlike. Now again released via Late Night Tales offshoot Night Time Stories, it marked the start of their partnership with producer Steve Christensen, whose hands-off touch would help sculpt their fluid, lo-fi feel across their early run.
Deep End (feat J Mascis & Juliana Hatfield) (3:21)
Sad Cinderella (3:43)
Review: Making a long-awaited return this autumn, The Lemonheads are set to drop their first long player - Love Chant - in nearly 20 years. Ahead of a run of Australian shows, they've dropped 'Deep End', a wiry jolt of punk pop with Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis tearing through the choruses and Juliana Hatfield lending backing vocals. Co-written with Tom Morgan, it's full of scratchy charm and late-night cigarette haze, squarely in line with Evan Dando's long history of pop melancholy and ragged sincerity. The single gets a limited 12" release at just 500 copies. On the flip, a hushed duet with Erin Rae: Townes Van Zandt's 'Sad Cinderella', all cracked-glass beauty and pedal steel ache, channelling classic Gram-and-Emmylou heartbreak.
Review: Writers will appreciate the double play on words no doubt, and trying to figure out who wouldn't get off on the Au Pairs is part of the brain teaser here. That said, the British post punk outfit only managed to peak at 79 in the album charts with this one, so clearly back in 1982 plenty of people either felt differently to us or weren't actually listening. Rediscovering the record now confirms their ignorance. Musically, Sense & Sensuality is a far broader collection than the group's preceding work, smashing through the limitations of a genre that was in its Informed by free form jazz, theatrical cabaret, new wave and art pop, it's a wild and unarguably fun ride instrumentally speaking, while lyrics speak to personal challenges and timely political issues.
Review: Back in 1994, Reading-based band Blueboy released their first album for Sarah Records: Unisex. The LP, which is one of the great indie/jangle pop records of the 90s, stands the test of time thanks to mesmerizing songcraft. To celebrate its 30th anniversary the band got together in May 2024 to perform live at The Water Rats in London's Kings Cross. It was their first show in 25 years and thankfully someone had the foresight to record the set. Whilst not limited to songs from Unisex, the key numbers from it are on here: 'Self Portrait' is up there with anything by Pulp or The Smiths. And on 'The Joy Of Living' co-singer Keith Girdler has an air of The Only Ones' Peter Perrett about him. Plus the synth parts and cello make for stunning instrumentals and the lyrical directness is refreshing in an age of smoke and mirrors and metaphor.
Review: Welsh indie Sub Pop-signees The Bug Club return with their fourth album. Similar to their 2024 LP, On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, they had the fortune of fellow Welsh indie star Tom Rees of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard produce the album in Rat Trap Studios in Cardiff, Wales and birthed an incredible new record in the process. The Bug Club's appeal comes in their natural affinity with melody and born sense of humour and the single 'How To Be A Confidante' has an air of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Meanwhile, certain vocal parts in 'Jealous Boy' soar like Brett Anderson of Suede if he had grown up listening to Daniel Johnston. Sounding on the form of their lives, there's no chance of swatting The Bug Club's success.
I Can Never Say Goodbye (Paul Oakenfold 'Cinematic' remix)
Endsong (Orbital remix)
Drone:no Drone (Daniel Avery remix)
All I Ever Am (Meera remix)
A Fragile Thing (Ame remix)
And Nothing Is Forever (Danny Briottet & Rico Conning remix)
Warsong (Daybreakers remix)
Alone (Four Tet remix)
I Can Never Say Goodbye (Mental Overdrive remix)
And Nothing Is Forever (Cosmodelica Electric Eden remix)
A Fragile Thing (Sally C remix)
Endsong (Gregor Tresher remix)
Warsong (Omid 16B remix)
Drone:no Drone (Anja Schneider remix)
Alone (Shanti Celeste 'February Blues' remix)
All I Ever Am (Mura Masa remix)
Review: A four sided selection of remixes of the goth kingpins' widely acclaimed and long awaited latest album Songs of a Lost World. From the moment Paul Oakenfold's 'I Can Never Say Goodbye' rework opens proceedings i lush strings, half-submerged vocals, and a cinematic pace i it's clear that curation, not just contribution, has shaped the form. Orbital turn 'Endsong' into a glistening spiral of sequencers and tension, while Sally C's raw house take on 'A Fragile Thing' ups the pulse without disturbing the gloom. Smith i still unmistakably the same outsider from Crawley, West Sussex i guides things with restraint, letting the space speak louder than the noise. Four Tet's version of 'Alone' closes the first disc like a forgotten lullaby, cracked and glinting. You don't get every remix i the more textural, post-rock turns are gone i but you do get a sharp cross-section that keeps faith with both atmosphere and momentum. It's the kind of record that feels designed for the night: not to lift it, exactly, but to sink into it willingly, track by track.
Review: Conan Gray revisits the corvine world of his 2020 debut, with three new bonuses as well as new cover art hand-drawn by Gray himself. Among them is 'Bed Rest', a previously unreleased song written during the original album sessions: Gray describes it as a time capsulate presciently mirroring his present state of mind, five years on. Then there're the two live versions: 'Heather (Lost Verse Version)' and 'The Cut That Always Bleeds', both of which provide subtle indication of the upward trajectory, though its maximal vintage pop stylings are kept intact . Kid Krow originally marked Gray's shift from bedroom pop phenom to breakout singer-songwriter; now the expanded edition lands beside a digital release, with physical preorders closing the loop on the very record that launched his career into orbit.
Review: Electronic soul innovator Liv.e followed up her acclaimed Girl In The Half Pearl with PAST FUTUR.e last year, and it's now dropping on vinyl. The surprise seven-track project was made in just 24 hours and announced via a post on X. It's a lo-fi synthwave collection that betrays her genre-defying instincts and trades neo-soul smoothness for raw, hallucinatory energy. She bellows like a dancehall toaster and delivers fragmented narration over fuzzy, pulsing synths that echo Gang Gang Dance's experimental spirit. Is it an EP, album, or mixtape? It doesn't matter-PAST FUTUR.e is an unfiltered transmission from one of r&b's most inventive voices, and it's wildly unpredictable.
Review: Matt Maltese has been picking up plenty of critical acclaim for this, his sixth studio album. Landing in May 2025, overwhelmingly favourable reviews cited the musical prowess on display here, the artist's deft songwriting and production skills - this being the first he's credited as producer on since 2019. For those who are new to this particular troubadour's universe, Maltese is the indie-chamber pop-rock talent from Reading, England, who blew up with 'Even If It's A Lie', a single released on Soundcloud. A decade later, he's become a household name for those who like their male soloists to be cut from a timeless cloth, taking influence from some of the vocal and lyrical greats of the 20th Century - Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon and Nina Simone have all been cited by the man himself. Shades of all three here.
Review: We've all been party to solo material by seminal UK shoegaze sorts Ride's guitarist Andy Bell, but what about their bassist? Not so much. Well, that's about to change. Enter the brooding debut solo album from Ride's low-end maestro Steve Queralt. A largely instrumental affair, there's elements of shoegaze and darkly textured soundscapes. Plus there's guest appearances from more 90s legends: Emma Anderson (formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing) and Verity Susman (Electrlane, MEMORIALS) grace the album. Anderson sings on the pummeling lead single 'Lonely Town', which was launched with an aptly monochrome meditative montage of a music video. Given the power of this debut, we suspect this nine-song collection is the first of many solo albums to come, from a musician who has nothing to prove, but plenty to express.
Review: Silver Tears is the new project from Berlin-based artists Luca Venezia of Curses fame, and Damian Shilman of Skelesys. After debuting in 2023 with a standout track on Next Wave Acid Punx Deux, the duo returns with their self-titled full-length album and it features eight tracks of refined, beat-driven coldwave that are all layered to perfection. Deep bass, shimmering guitars, mechanical drums, and haunting baritone vocals. Blending dancefloor energy with introspective moods, it draws influence from 90s shoegaze and grunge. Their sound pays homage to the goth subculture while proving its continued relevance through a compelling mix of elegance, darkness and emotional intensity.
Review: Sunhouse put out their Crazy On The Weekend long player back in 1998 and it has since become known as something of a lost treasure of British indie soul. Not any more, as Rough Trade finally get round to this reissue. The album was praised at the time by Mojo and Uncut and is the only work from the Burton-on-Trent group. It blends warm acoustics, strings and heartfelt vocals with plenty of honesty and emotion and was recorded in producer John Reynolds' Notting Hill home/ Backing vocals from Sinead O'Connor add a touch of extra class and it features 'Monkey Dead' from Shane Meadows' Twenty-Four Seven. Frontman Gavin Clark's voice is unforgettable-haunting, human and soul-stirring throughout.
Review: After breakout success in 2008 with radio-blitzing singles and a global tour, Salford duo The Ting Tings have spent five albums dodging repetition. Home marks their latest obliquity; written and recorded in a wooden-decked studio using analogue gear, the album trades digital punch for coastal ease. It's a love letter to the crisp songwriting of Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp and Christopher Cross, designed for long drives with salt air and rolled-down windows. Tracks like 'Song For Meadow', 'Goodbye Song' and 'Mind Thunder' lean into harmony, space and wistfulness, with Katie White and Jules De Martino easing into a more reflective, groove-led mode.
Review: Ali brings together Malian guitarist and singer Vieux Farka Toure with Houston-based trio Khruangbin for pattern-textured tribute to Vieux's father, the legendary Ali Farka Toure. The group chose to reinterpret Ali's music, drawing on a shared sense of space and groove to honour his legacy without embalming it. Recorded in just a week in a barn in Burton, Texas, the sessions came steeped in warmth and mutual respect, with the final tracklist curated by Ali's eleven children. Khruangbin's dusky, reverb-heavy style embed the earthy, cyclical patterns of the recently popularised Malian desert blues, each side subtly reshaping the other sound while drawing parallels between North American and West African takes on the same name. Though long delayed by the pandemic, what has emerged is an unhurried traditional group mind, invoked to tread newer ground in songs erstwhile deemed well-trodden.
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